Why Does Rain Fall

Kaelynn

Kaelynn didn't exactly appreciate the situation she was in. Her best friend apparently didn't want to be friends with her anymore, and she's about to meet with a boy she's on edge about at the park. Of course, she wasn't okay with Gianna. They had been friends for so long, and now she just doesn't want to be friends? She knew she was drifting away from Jake and Gianna, but did she really want to reconnect.

Come on, Kaelynn. You need to stop being so stubborn.

She decided it would be a good idea to reconnect and stop being her stubborn old self. She missed them and their old traditional hangouts. One question kept appearing in her mind, however. Did she really want to be friends with Gianna? Jake was fine, at least he kept in contact with her. Only rarely, though, but at least he tried. Gianna and her had stopped talking for a while with the exception of the occasional school questions. "What did we do in History? What did we do in science?" Kaelynn didn't mind answering them since she loved to be the smart one. She and Jake's intelligence match, but Jake stopped putting effort into everything he did back in seventh grade while she kept going until the eighth grade. For reasons including Paul.

Did she really not want to be friends anymore?

Kaelynn shrugged. She would think about it later. She wanted to have a relaxing afternoon, but her plans changed when Henning texted her wanting to meet up. They decided at the park and when she asked her mom to drive her, she actually said yes. Surprising, but Kaelynn wasn't complaining. She hopped into some sweat pants with elephant patterns and a threw on a hoodie. She checked her phone for any notifications. None. She shrugged and yelled for her mom to get in the car and they drove off to the park.

When she got there, Henning was on top of a slide, just sitting there staring off into space.

"Thanks, mom."

"Is the person you're meeting here?" 

"Yes, mom. I'll see you later." She smiled at her mom and got out of the car. Her mom lingered for a moment, but then finally drove off. She walked over to Henning and waved. He looked over and smiled at her.

"What's up, Kaelynn?" He slid down the slide.

"Don't 'what up' me." He landed with a plop and a cute laugh. Kaelynn rolled her eyes.

"Am I not allowed to want to hang out with my new friend?"

"I thought you would have other friends to hang out with."

Henning stood up and dusted himself off. He brushed his locks of curly brown hair out of his eyes. He sighed. "Not really."

"Not really?" Kaelynn repeated.

"Not really. I had a falling out with a lot of my friends."

"Well, damn." Kaelynn sat down on the ground in a close range of the slide. "What's up?"

Henning sighed and looked up at the sky. "Nothing. I just wanted to hang out."

"So that's code for wanting me to answer that offer?"

Henning laughed. "Yeah. That's a good reason."

"I thought about it, not too much, but I did. I'll have to decline" She smiled, "No reason for me to hop into a rebound relationship."

"I understand." Henning sighed then smiled, the kind of fake smile that's genuine. Hard to explain. It's like someone has found a sense of satisfaction or clarity, you're not happy, but you can't help but smile.

Kaelynn knew that smile all too well. "I'm sorry, Henning. I do like you, but..." She trailed off.

"But you don't want to jump into a relationship? Heart still hurts?"

Kaelynn nodded.

"Dammit, Kaelynn! Not everyone is going to hurt you! I know that you're still hurt, I know. I just..." He sighed. "I'm tired of you denying other people's presence."

"What?" Kaelynn jerked her head so hard to face Henning that she popped her neck. It was an interesting sensation. "You haven't even known me that long."

"I don't need to. You're pushing Jake and Gianna away because now you think they'll hurt you."

Damn, how did he know her that well? She sat silently in thought thinking about that statement. Was she the one pushing Jake and Gianna away? Was she really? Maybe Gianna was finally tired of the friendship. In all honesty, she was too. They had been fighting a lot more than they ever really have proving that Kaelynn had really changed since the relationship with Paul. Her heart had hardened a bit. Maybe she was the one pushing them away.

"Maybe." Was all she managed to say.

"Are you going to make up with them?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Gianna doesn't really like me anymore."

"Really? Give me your phone." Henning held his hand out.

"What? No."

"Do you trust me?"

"Not at all." Kaelynn laughed. Henning smiled and slightly brushed his hair our of his eyes.

"Please?" 

"Since you're being cute," She tossed her phone to Henning and he caught it with accuracy. Kaelynn scooted over to Henning and almost had an anxiety attack when her thigh brushed against his. She kept telling herself it wasn't because she liked him.

Henning went to her messages and scrolled to find a contact.

"Where's Gianna?"

Kaelynn laughed and scrolled to a contact named "Genie in a Bottle". Henning looked at her with a judging face and as soon as Kaelynn laughed, he did too. He clicked on it and got ready to type something, he hesitated, then he hit the call button.

"Henning!" Kaelynn tried to take back her phone but he put it out of reach. He laughed.

"If you want her back, you'll have to talk to her yourself."

"Well, what if I don't want her back?"

"Too bad."

The phone suddenly made a little click.

"What do you want, Kaelynn?" It was Gianna's voice. Soft and high pitched, with a little more edge than it usually had.

"Hi, Gigi." Was all she managed to say.